Henry Kuck as Scientific Farmer

INTRODUCTION

This, the third and final portion of the biography of Rev. F. H. W. Kuckherman is entitled “Henry Kuck, 1890-1915 – as Scientific Farmer”, tells of Rev. Kuckherman’s desire to help the farming members of the community to improve their crops and their farming techniques.  He had a keen interest in agricultural research, and he pioneered the use of drainage tile, as is narrated in the first part of his biography.  He was also involved in the development of the New Idea manure spreader and took delivery of the first one. 

HENRY KUCK THE SCIENTIFIC FARMER
1890-1915

When Rev. F. H. W. Kuckherman retired from active duty as pastor of his congregation in September of 1890, his first decision was to again assume his self-adopted name of Henry Kuck – the name he had chosen when he immigrated to Ohio.

Purposefully he intended that henceforth he would apply his efforts and talents toward solving some of the problems of agriculture.  So from this time forward we may regard him as Henry Kuck – Scientific Farmer. 

But his knowledge and experience with farming did not commence in 1890.  He had vivid memories of his early youth, spent with his two brothers, three sisters and his father and mother, living on a rented farm near Ladbergen, Germany.  The soil was sandy and not too fertile.  It left much to be desired for providing amply for a household of eight.  The exodus of all of the six children to the Knoxville community has already been narrated.

When young Kuck arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio he fully intended to proceed with his brothers and sisters to the Knoxville community – but not as a farmer.  His experience with hard labor required to eke out an existence on forty acres of depleted soil in Germany was enough of farming.  Instead he would seek to develop his mental faculties so that he could do work of a less arduous nature. 

So it was that during his ten months stay in Cincinnati he availed himself of every opportunity to increase his learning, especially regarding the Engliah language.  When he prepared for his trip to the Knoxville community he did not equip himself with the usual “farmer’s kit” but, instead, he invested in books which included the Bible, a German-English Dictionary, several textbooks on English Grammar, a book on Arithmetic, and a copy of the official “Pharmacopea of Homeopathic Medicine.”

Upon arriving in the Knoxville community, he was welcomed into the home of his older brother who, as one of the four original settlers, had arrived four years earlier.  Here, because of his studious nature, he soon won a reputation for being lazy so far as sharing the menial duties was concerned.  He continued his self -education until two years later when he walked to Lima, Ohio – a distance of thirty miles – and was rewarded with a license to become a school teacher.

Almost immediately after assuming the position of the community school teacher, his talents and superior training became apparent to one and all.  His advice and assistance in writing letters, as well as his special help with official affairs (conducted in English) were in great and universal demand.  His efforts at self-edification had paid off and he soon attained stature as the community leader.

Consequently in the year 1843 – as a lad of hardly twenty-two years of age – he was requested to lead the religious services of the church previously founded in 1840 but which was now without a pastor.  His strong, clear voice, together with his reading and oratorical ability, prompted his unanimous selection.

In assuming this added responsibility, he did so without any previous training in religious affairs, but he would give it his studious attention.   It is at this point that the author wishes to introduce documented evidence of Mr. Kuck’s early deductions from his study of the Bible.  This is recorded in his personal journal, entitled “What I Believe”, dated 1843, which copy is in the author’s possession.

The treatise in this journal begins with a self-argumentative dissertation of the Creation story and the story of the Garden of Eden in particular.  His self-derived deductions are worthy of study by theologians and agriculturists alike.  To properly understand his reasoning on these matters, one must be perceptive of the wide differences in experiences which he encountered.

In his native Germany the land was overpopulated and every square inch of ground was utilized for the growing of some kind of crop.  There were no parks and, therefore, no wild life.  Whatever forms of animal life existed were domesticated animals husbanded under the domination of man.  In his new frontier he encountered and experienced the absolute opposite.  Here every inch of ground was covered with some type of vegetation – yet the ground was not tilled.  Many forms of animal life existed in abundance and in splendid grandeur.  There were fowls in the air and fish in the streams.  Was this the Garden of Eden?

He was to observe and ponder these many manifestations and, in the end, he recorded his conclusions as follows:

I consider the Creation Story as recorded in the first Chapter of Genesis and the first four verses of the second Chapter of Genesis to be true and conclusive.  This refers to a single all-inclusive God whose creations are timeless, ever renewed, and entirely compatible with all other forms of creation.  (In later chapters he refers to this God as the I AM).

I consider the Creation Story as recorded in the second Chapter of Genesis, from the fifth verse on, as false and contradictory.  This story is obviously an attempt to individualize God to human form with the added recognition of Him as the Lord God.  This God, in later chapters of the Bible becomes the limited personal God of Israel—capable of supporting war, cruelties and many of the baser things experienced by man.

But it was the story of the Garden of Eden and its recorded curse upon man that commanded his attention.  Was this curse real?  Here are some of the conclusions at which he arrived.

The story of the Garden of Eden is an allegorical account, describing a paradise of coexistence and harmonious living together of all the world’s creations in the first instances including man.

When man yielded to the temptation of eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of life, he gained the knowledge of evil as well as good, which set him apart from all of the creations in the Garden.

Because of man’s sin, whereby his mode of life became incompatible with the established routine of life in the garden, man – and man alone—was excluded from the Garden.

There is no record in the account that the Garden of Eden was destroyed or in any way discontinued.

Therefore it may be assumed that the Garden of Eden story must not be relegated to a distant past but must be considered as renewable and ever-present manifestation of a life principle that is operative in any area where the presence and influence of man has not penetrated.

The primeval conditions of the virgin land and its many life manifestations provide me, as a newcomer with ample proof that this is indeed a paradise that parallels the Garden of Eden story.

The question is, how will my presence and that of my neighbors affect this natural paradise?

Concerning man, the account proclaims that man became a rational being – to know and use the counterpart of good – evil.

Apparently the first sin was the knowledge and misuse of sex, for it is recorded that man discovered his nakedness, which he tried to hide at first with a fig leaf – and later with skins and clothing.  Of all life’s creations, man alone adorns himself with clothing.

The admonition continues, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou shalt return into the ground, for out of it was thou taken; for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.

Therefore, the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.”

How fantastically accurate is this ancient description of the lot of man even unto this day.  Whereas all forms of life, except man, exist free and independent in orderly, harmonious and leisurely fashion, man is constantly servile to his own needs and desires as well as the desires of others, generally.

If a man would be a farmer, he is required to plow and till the ground, plant his crops cultivate them and, in the end, harvest them.  In contrast, the ground is never tilled in nature’s domains.

If a farmer would tend livestock, he would be required to provide housing, grow and harvest appropriate crops to feed them and, in the end, to carry all of this feed to them according to their needs.  In this way the farmer becomes the servant rather than the master.  In nature all wildlife is free to roam and forage as it pleases.

Such and others were in the deductions made by the youthful would-be preacher from his reading of the Story of the Garden of Eden.  Most of his deductions on this subject are already recorded in the section “The Ministry of Rev. F. H. W. Kuckherman.”  While these deductions satisfied his pastoral philosophy, the role of farming itself remained an enigma to be coped with for the remainder of his life.

Because of an avid interest aroused by his natural observations of life in this new land, he applied for a land grant, in 1846, on eighty acres of prime forest land located about one-half mile from this village where he taught school and led his congregation in religious services.  This land he maintained in its natural state until his son, Ernst, could start to clear the land, which was not until the year 1860.

It was in the clearing of the land that he gained first-hand knowledge of the great obstacle that had to be overcome if the land were to become productive.  The land was wet and swampy.  Not only did this condition prevail upon his own land, but it affected his neighbors as well.  This problem presented him with a challenge and in 1866 – because of this challenge – he began to build what was probably the first agricultural tile mill in the whole Northwest Territory.  The account of this venture has already been recited in a previous section of this treatise.

In the year 1870, Rev. Kuckherman as he was known during his pastorate sold his half in this successful enterprise to a neighbor, Herman H. Meckstroth.  For five more years this enterprise was to continue as a partnership under the name of “Kuck and Meckstroth”.  In 1875 Ernst Kuck sold his half of the business to the same Herman H. Meckstroth and with the proceeds of the sale bought a 100-acre farm in Shelby County, Ohio.

When his son Ernst therefore left Brookside Acres to take possession of his own farm, the youngest son William became the new tenant and continued until 1890 when, as a retired minister, Rev. Kuckherman took personal possession.  During these fifteen years, Rev. Kuckherman spent more time at the farm, and his interest widened with every experience he encountered.

It was therefore in the summer of 1890 that Rev. Kuckherman—henceforth to be called Henry Kuck – moved to his beloved Brookside Acres.  With him to do the actual farming was his grandson whom he had reared in his own home from the age of four days – his mother having died following his birth.  Now he would be able to devote all of his time and energy to the problems of farming.

However, his desire for immediate retirement from his ministerial duties was not to be realized.  Shortly after his retirement as minister his erstwhile congregation was torn with strife and the members were left in a state of confusion.  This situation required his immediate attention.  Four years later, with the dedication of the new church edifice which he had so carefully planned and engineered, the community was restored to complete harmony in all respects.

It is after the year 1894 that his private Journal gives evidence of his wanting to improve the quantity and quality of his crops.  His notations evidence the purchase of many varieties of fruit trees including apple, pear, plum and cherry.  He purchased several varieties of wheat, corn, barley, oats, and potatoes.  In fact, my father has often told me how, during the early years of his tenure the farm was operated as a veritable experimental farm to test for best adapted varieties of fruit and grain.

Nor was his interest confined to varieties of grain, fruit or vegetables alone.  In the year 1896 his Journal records the purchase of four pure-bred gilts and a boar of the Duroc Jersey breed.  In 1898 he purchased three pure-bred cows and a bull of the dual-purpose “Red Polled” breed.  With these he undoubtedly hoped to increase the quantity and the quality of milk production and to provide good butchering qualities as well.

Undoubtedly his observance in early spring and summer, of the comparative development and performance of each of the species gave him deep satisfaction and a scientific appraisal of their comparative worth.  However, this observation lasted only through the growing season and ended with their stage of dormancy.  Would he enter a stage of “dormancy” with them?  Heaven forbid that his ever-active and effervescent mind should tolerate leisure!  During the inclement weather of late autumn and winter he chose to remain indoors and to follow his favorite avocation – reading.  With a large collection of books that he had amassed over the years, and with the newspapers and periodicals for which he had subscribed, he was well fortified with reading material to take up his time.

Appearing in the news media of that time were many thought-provoking articles that challenged his imagination.  There were articles relating to the feasibility and practical use of horseless carriages.  There was also much mention at the time concerning the use of electricity for many practical purposes.  Electricity may well become the future servant of the people, the articles concluded.

Why wasn’t he rich that he might work on some of these projects?  Perhaps an oil lease on his land would pay him royalties was the answer.  Did they not open up a large and profitable oil field just north and west of St. Marys – only eight miles distant from his farm?  So he proceeded to contact drillers and other oil men to negotiate a lease on his farm.

In this attempt Mr. Kuck met with nothing but refusals.  He received no encouragement at all because the experts were aware of the fact that more than a dozen wells had already been drilled in the New Knoxville area and all with negative results.  However, after each refusal his confidence grew stronger that there was oil under his land.

Accordingly, he contracted with a Jacob Moses – an independent driller – to drill a well for him at Mr. Kuck’s personal expense.  His Journal has the notation that he paid Mr. Moses the sum of $640.00 for this service.  While most experts and some of the neighbors regarded this effort as sheer folly, they were to be surprised with the final results.  The well came in as a “flowing” well rated at 120 barrels of oil per day.  Because no preparation had been made for handling and storing this oil, the well was temporarily closed until satisfactory arrangements could be made for a lease or sale to be consummated.

Now with this producing well as evidence, he quickly negotiated with H. Miesse and Sons who guaranteed him an extension of operations to include at least eight wells and that a special pipeline would be installed for shipping the oil directly to a refinery in Lima, Ohio.

These guarantees were subsequently met and for many years this oil lease produced highly satisfactory returns for his faith and optimism.  As a special notation to this episode, it may be stated that of the eight wells drilled on this lease more than 60 years ago, two are still in profitable operation today.  One of these two wells is the one Mr. Kuck drilled at his own expense.  On the other hand, the larger operation in the St. Marys, Ohio area has long been abandoned.

Mr. Kuck’s interest in the oil lease was but one of several projects that commanded his attention at the time.  One of these projects concerned the building of a horseless carriage.  The possibility that the horseless carriage might someday provide the principal mode of transportation was for him a challenging thought.

In his enthusiasm for such a project he found a kindred spirit in his own nephew, James Slack – the son of his younger sister.  Mr. Slack was recognized as a master mechanic operating his own machine shop.  Enthusiastically these two men discussed this project in absolute privacy and finally decided to proceed with the building of such a horseless carriage.

In order to assure privacy and secrecy for this project, a special room was built to the rear of Mr. Slack’s machine shop where the carriage would be assembled and built and, incidentally, where it could be kept under lock and key.  Progress on this project was to be slow and time-consuming, for there were many problems to be solved.  Of foremost importance was the selection of the type of power plant to be used to drive the carriage.

Other problems concerned the type of transmission to used – whether it should be belt or chain drive.  Then there was the need of a special clutch arrangement for changing gears.  The carriage needed brakes to stop it when necessary.  The problem of such a steering system was important.  All of these problems required careful consideration to make the carriage safe and operative.

Finally in the spring of 1902 the vehicle was completed.  After applying several coats of a shiny black paint, it was rolled out onto the driveway for public viewing.  It was appropriately named “The Knox”—referring to the name of the village.  In its original demonstration — as well as subsequent ones – the Knox performed well, attaining a top speed of 16 miles per hour.

However, there was one serious obstacle encountered by the vehicle.  Horses and drivers had not yet become familiar with such contraptions.  They were very frightened and more than a few runaways resulted, some rather serious. 

So ended the episode of building the horseless carriage.  Although Mr. Kuck had contributed much in the way of inspiration, encouragement, and funds to the venture he demanded, as in all other performances of his varied life, that his participation remain anonymous and that James Slack alone be given the full credit for building “The Knox”.  As for him, his curiosity had been satisfied and he would leave it to a future Ford, Maxwell, Chevrolet, Buick, Packard or other engineers to perfect the idea.

There was to be still another project to command Mr. Kuck’s attention and interest at this time.  This venture concerned the idea of building a manure spreader.  The account of this project as told this author by his father was as follows:  Late in the fall of 1900 Mr. Kuck was visited at his home by two strangers who said they wanted the opportunity of knowing him personally.  During the course of their conversation they dropped a bit of gossip that was to electrify his keen sense of mental observation.  They said that they had heard that there was a man living at Maria Stein, Ohio, who had the feather-brained of building a manure spreader.

After these gentlemen had concluded their visit, Mr. Kuck immediately and enthusiastically addressed his grandson (my father) with the query, “Did you hear the part of their conversation about a man in Maria Stein who is working on the idea of building a manure spreader?  What a wonderful new idea such a venture would represent.  Can you imagine what such an invention would mean to every farmer in reducing his work load for the hardest, meanest, and most time-consuming task of all, that of disposing of his accumulated manure?  Instead of loading the manure on a wagon, unloading it in convenient piles on the field, then spreading it before the ground can be plowed – such an invention could accomplish the feat in a single operation.  Certainly such an idea should not be the subject of gossip – it must be encouraged”.

Two days later Mr. Kuck left early in the morning to travel by horse and buggy to Maria Stein – approximately sixteen miles distant – to investigate the source of the gossip he had heard.  Upon reaching the little village he soon met a Mr. Oppenheim who proudly confessed the fact that he was indeed working on such an idea.  All that transpired at this original meeting can only be conjectured.  Apparently the meeting was cordial and mutually satisfactory.

After this first meeting, as many as a dozen trips were made by Mr. Kuck to Maria Stein for the purpose of noting the progress being made with the building of the manure spreader and probably to talk with his newly found friend about the project.  Concerning this venture, a single entry appears in his personal Journal as follows:

April 5, 1901 –paid to J. Oppenheim $150.00 for manure wagon.  This notation does not elaborate as to whether this transaction represented a loan or payment for the first spreader to be built.  It was almost two years from that date that Mr. Kuck was officially notified that the manure spreader was ready for delivery, complete with neck yoke and double trees.  This was in April 1903, and my father left early the next morning, walking behind a span of horses, for Maria Stein.  Upon arriving in the village, he hitched the team to the spreader wagon and, after receiving some last minute instructions regarding its operation, proceeded homeward with this “New Idea” spreader wagon.

On the following day this new invention was to receive its first trial run.  Information concerning its delivery to the farm had quickly sifted through the community so that a crowd of several hundred farmers had assembled to watch the demonstration.  Unfortunately, the spreader wagon had been ambitiously overloaded so that after about a third of the load had been successfully spread the chain web broke, making it necessary to unload the rest of the load by hand.  On the following day, several mechanics arrived from Maria Stein to repair the break, after which the first manure spreader operated successfully for many years.

So ended this episode concerning Mr. Kuck’s interest in the development of the idea of a manure spreader. All that transpired during the various meetings between Mr. Kuck and the inventor – Mr. Oppenheim – is, of course, not known.  It may be assumed, however, that the name “New Idea” as applied to the new invention, a name which was adopted by the company which was to further develop and promote it, came about at the suggestion of Mr. Kuck himself.  

Commencing about the year 1904, Mr. Kuck was to embark upon a venture that would consume all of his spare time and attention.  Mindful of the Biblical quotation that man must live by the sweat of his brow, he would seek ways to soften these labors and bring some comfort and ease to his existence.  It was at this point that he began to earnestly apply himself to the study of electricity.

Eventually his profound study of this subject revealed to him many ways in which the principle of electricity could be applied to ease the burdens of man in the performance of the many menial tasks with which he was confronted daily.  But the principle of electricity would have to be thoroughly understood, and its use and application would require studied attention.

In helping him to resolve many of the questions provoked by this subject, he again resorted to the aid proffered by his nephew, James Slack.  Until then neither of them had had any direct experience with electricity, but they would learn.  In their enthusiastic study of the subject, they were soon to learn that in addition to its desired performance, it might also create disastrous results when used improperly.

So both men applied themselves seriously to the further study of electricity.  Mr. Kuck was to study and dream about its many uses and application, while Mr. Slack devoted himself to the practical study of how to create it and then harness it safely for its various uses.  They had frequent meetings to discuss their findings and other thoughts they had developed on the subject. 

By the fall of 1909, they had developed their master plan for the complete implementation of their project.  It called for a new building to properly house the many innovations they had planned.  During the winter, therefore, they cut the trees and had the lumber cut and sawed to meet the necessary specifications. 

In early 1910 they built the building, measuring 48 feet in length and 18 feet in width.  The structure was divided into four separate rooms each measuring 12 feet by 18 feet.  One room was designated as a tool and carpentry shop; a second was used as the milk room; the third as a laundry room and the fourth as a general utility room.

A single power shaft was installed that covered the entire length of the building.  It was operated by a 2 horsepower Fairbanks-Morse gasoline engine.  This power shaft provided the power for the root cutter and corn sheller in the utility room; the washing machine in the laundry room; the cream separator in the milk room and for a circular saw and a grindstone in the tool and carpentry room.

To this same power shaft was connected a belt-driven electric generator that would operate whenever the power shaft was used for any of the specific purposes already described.  This generator would generate the electricity that would charge the set of 24 Edison Wet Cell batteries which stored the electricity for providing light in every building on the farm.

This arrangement proved eminently successful and satisfactory from the start.  It provided an ample supply of light for every room in the house and for every building on the farm.  To Mr. Kuck it gave a deep sense of gratification and a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.  What a difference there was between the use of the kerosene lamp and the much more illuminating light available at the mere turn of a switch!

This system was to be in continuous use for fourteen years, when it was replaced by the newly-perfected Delco home lighting system.  After his experience with this venture, Mr. Slack’s interest in electricity grew to the point where in 1912, together with eight colleagues, he brought electric current to the village of New Knoxville for both street and home lighting purposes.

The following year Mr. Kuck was to experience deep sorrow and a remorseful sense of frustration.  After a prolonged illness, his wife and helpmate for many years was called to her reward at the age of 86 years and 4 months.  This event left him mournful and lonely.  He himself had already lived the Biblically prescribed term of three score years and ten.  He was aging fast – losing physical vitality with each passing year.

However, by the end of the following summer he had shed his melancholy mood and was girded for his next conquest.  Because of his loneliness, coupled with his waning physical vitality, he had to confine his activities more and more to the local premises – mostly his home and study.  Consequently, he chose this author (his great grandson) as the focal point of his attentions.  He would teach me the art of objective thinking and deductive reasoning.

To bridge the deep chasm between the optimistic exuberance of a youth of only 13 years and the mellowed experience of a 91-year oldster would seem like an impossible task.  Yet he accomplished his goal which, in the end, brought us as closely together as any relationship ever established between two human souls.  This was to last until the day of his death, when I had reached the age of 17 years.

The following recital is therefore the author’s own account of what happened during the last years of Mr. Kuck’s life.  The vivid memories of those years cannot be erased by time, nor can the influence he wielded over my youth be measured by any standard of worth.  The following recital is meant to show his method of procedure and the techniques he employed in captivating my whole-hearted attention.

It all began when I returned home after my first day as a freshman in the local high school.  Having brought home all of the textbooks for my prescribed courses, I soon found him perusing through them.  Suddenly his attention focused on the Latin textbook.  He quite innocently inquired of me, “Son, what about this Latin business, is it worthwhile?” I began to stammer and tried to find words to evaluate the use of Latin.  He calmly relieved my confusion by explaining that he thought Latin to be an ancient language from which many of our present-day words were derived, and that undoubtedly a study of it would be very worthwhile and rewarding.

Then came the surprise when he inquired of me, “Son, would you teach me Latin?” To which I replied, “Grandpa, how can I teach you Latin when I am only studying it for the first time myself?”  “That’s just it, we could study it together”, he replied.  “You learn each lesson well in the classroom, and at night you can teach me what you have learned.”  His appeal to me seemed to be so sincere that I agreed.  The next day he supplied me with the money to buy a Latin textbook for him, and during the entire school term he reimbursed me with fifty cents a week for my personal effort. 

During many of these private study sessions I gained a faint impression that instead of teaching him – he was teaching me.  But these notions were conveniently brushed aside by the thought that I was the teacher, and how would he know anything about Latin except that which I personally taught him?  Several years after his death I was to learn from my father that Mr. Kuck, after several months of application and study, had virtually mastered the entire Latin textbook and that indeed he had been the teacher.  However, the many hours spent in this close relationship had given great pleasure to Mr. Kuck and had served to give him relief from an otherwise great sense of loneliness.

In December 1912, during one of our Latin lesson studies, Mr. Kuck casually placed before me a copy of the “Auglaize County Republican” – a weekly newspaper that has since been discontinued.  In this paper was the account of a “Boys and Girls Corn Growing Contest” to be instituted by the State of Ohio during the 1913 growing season.  It allowed for each county winner a complete expense-paid trip for one week to Washington, D. C., New York and Philadelphia.  Frank discussion of the possibilities of such a contest developed during our subsequent study periods.  In short order my enthusiasm for this project had been whipped to fever stage and I submitted my application as a contestant for Auglaize County, Ohio.

Through this project Mr. Kuck was to exert his influence on my growing mind in several never-to-be-forgotten ways.  First, he would teach me the spirit of competition as based on thorough research that would involve every facet of this project; secondly, through his own questions on the matter he would give his evidence of objective thinking; and thirdly, the questions he raised would require of me the use of accurate, deductive reasoning.

After duly enrolling in the contest, our first decision concerned the selection of the particular one-acre plot of ground that would produce this superior yield of corn.  After walking together and studying the characteristics of virtually every acre of ground in every field on the farm, we came up with seven possible locations.  Next, through the process of elimination based on the principles of deductive reasoning, the list was reduced to three.

By further deductive reasoning on these three plots – concerning their individual merit as to the lay of the ground, the natural drainage and fertility level of the soil, past history of crops grown, and past yield performance – the choice was completed.  It was a plot of bottom land adjacent to a creek that had been used as meadow for more than a dozen years.  Although there was never so much as a hint, I presume that the selection of this plot represented Mr. Kuck’s choice from the very beginning.

After the plot had thus been selected, his next question was regarding the use of manure.  “Certainly”, I replied, “Don’t we always apply manure with the planting of corn?” “Well”, he retorted, “I understand there is a big difference in the fertilizing value of manure – whether chicken, hog, horse, or cow manure – I believe it is worth looking into”.  Consequently, he selected all of the reading material he had available on this subject from his well-stocked library and laid it before me for my personal study.  This intimate study concerning the different characteristics of the various types of manure was indeed interesting, as well as illuminating.  In the end we decided to apply cow manure at the rate of ten tons per acre.

Mr. Kuck’s next query was to involve an innovation.  He asked, “In addition to the manure we expect to apply, should we use some kind of a commercial fertilizer?”  At the time there were articles in magazines and newspapers that the use of certain types of commercial fertilizers had given improved yields for various crops.  After much discussion it was decided to ask Dr. Thorne, then head of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station at Wooster, Ohio, for an opinion on this matter.

Dr. Thorne’s reply to this inquiry was to the effect that if we used ten tons of manure to the acre, he would recommend the use of some type of phosphorus-providing fertilizer.  Cow manure, he stated, was notoriously low in the element phosphorus.  He suggested the use of 200 pounds per acre of a new commercially made 16% Acid Phosphate to supply this extra phosphorus.  Accordingly, we ordered 500 pounds of this 16% Acid Phosphate from the Cincinnati branch of the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, this being their minimum shipment.  This shipment probably represented the first shipment of a commercial fertilizer to Auglaize County, Ohio.

The final, and probably the most important, decision to be made in this project concerned the selection of the variety of seed to be used.  To best study this problem, we ordered from a catalogue seed house twelve representative ears of corn of each of the eight varieties they had listed.  The varieties included samples of Red River, Calico, Silver King, Cash, Leaming, Reids Yellow Dent, Early Mastodon, and Late Mammoth. By carefully studying the individual characteristics of each variety for such points as the length of ear, size of cob, depth of grain and the number of rows on each ear, the variety called Early Mastodon was selected – principally because it revealed more rows of grain to each ear.  Accordingly, one bushel of this variety was ordered for this project.

Early in the spring the ground was plowed and the seed bed prepared for planting.  It was planted on May 20th and throughout the growing season the field was carefully cultivated and tilled.  When the corn was harvested and all results reported, I was declared the winner by quite a large margin over fourteen other contestants.  During the following year I was ineligible to compete in the corn-growing contest.  However, a wheat-growing contest was announced and by winning that I was awarded another trip to Washington, D. C.  The year after that, a special corn-growing contest on the Congressional District level was conducted, and I was again so fortunate as to win a third trip.

All of the foregoing discourse on the growing of a prize acre of corn could ordinarily be condensed into a single paragraph – perhaps a single sentence.  But not so for me, for it meant more for me than the attainment of the prize involved.  No general ever prepared his battle plans with greater care than the careful study and applied research we devoted to this simple conquest of growing a prize acre of corn.

Through this experience I was so genuinely taught, and I obtained knowledge in a way that no teacher has ever taught me before or since.  I was shown the art of competition as based on knowledge and preparedness.  I was taught the art of objective thinking – to think straight and penetratingly on any subject – and I was to learn the art of deductive reasoning.  These attributes were among his greatest accomplishments, and he desired to impart them to me.

“What was he really like?”, I am often asked.  From my intimate and close association with him during the seventeen years of my life, and from his personal Journal, his other records and writings in my possession, I shall try to describe him as best I can.

During the first eighteen years of his life in Germany, his hopes and ambitions were naturally thwarted as he was doomed to a life of servitude as a farm laborer, due to the customs and traditions of his day.  When he migrated to Cincinnati, Ohio, he found a new freedom and he sensed an unlimited sphere of opportunity.  Here he would study and develop his mental faculties to be prepared for any opportunities that would become available to him.

His early penchant for study and learning was not a passing fancy.  Throughout his active life of nearly ninety-five years he was driven by an inner compulsion to study and learn about any and every subject that came to his attention.  He was not a theorist: he was an absolute realist.  Vague information about any subject meant no information at all.

Nor was his study confined to books alone.  Through his keen sense of observation he noted every characteristic that the phenomena of life about him would display.  Being self-taught, he was never brain-washed on any subject.  Although physically lazy, his mental faculties were ever alert – ever seeking with deep penetration on any subject that came under his scrutiny.

Through his ministerial studies he was suddenly to become aware of the validity of the new commandment in the New Testament – “Thou shalt love thy neighbor”.  To him this commandment was all inclusive – even covering and replacing all the commandments of the Old Testament.  He saw in this commandment man’s actual redemption and salvation from the curse pronounced on him in the Garden of Eden.

He therefore accepted the principle of love as the guiding, as well as the driving force in his life.  Accepting the full armor and shield of love to protect him – whom was he to fear?  By accepting the full faith promised by love, what should he doubt?  Thus fear and doubt did not assail him.  So firmly did he embrace the principle of love that it was evidenced in every word, act and deed of his exemplary life.  So firmly did he believe in it that he made it the subject of most of the sermons he preached following ordination.

In his daily life Mr. Kuck was always soft spoken, reserved and personable both in his habits and in his attire.  He shaved daily, for to him the growing of a beard was the acknowledgment of early retirement.  He would stay young as long as he could.

His advice and counsel were eagerly sought by almost everyone in the community.  Although this commanded much of his time, he would nevertheless receive every visitor with a cordial smile and a hearty greeting.  He had the uncanny knack of quickly placing his visitors at ease and then leisurely discussing the problem at hand.  The problems discussed were many and varied – perhaps covering every phase of human experience.

During many of these consultations, he would casually cause the visitor to state his own thoughts and convictions regarding the problem under discussion, from which he would then carefully draw his own conclusions.  If these convictions seemed right and worthy in all respects, he would give his general assent.  But if in his own mind the convictions were faulty or in any way unworthy, he would casually and leisurely offer alternative suggestions that might fit the problem and which, in the end, would probably be acceptable to the visitor.

Following most of these consultations, the visitor would depart highly encouraged and with a deep sense of hope.  Almost universally the conclusions reached would be from their own thinking.  Mr. Kuck had developed the fine art of thinking with the people rather than for them.

Although he possessed superior knowledge and wisdom concerning almost any subject, he never permitted it to show or otherwise be felt.  During his discussions he made it a point to treat all of his visitors according to their own plane of mental ability, except in the case of braggarts, whom he despised.  In the same manner that he detested the words of a braggart, he equally opposed any notoriety or publicity in his own behalf.  In all matters where he actively participated, he would ask that his name be withheld.

In all of his mental calculations he was the extreme optimist.  He had no patience with negative thoughts or negative positions.  He would not advance ten steps today and retreat five or fifteen steps tomorrow.  Everything with him was “go”.  It was this attitude that prompted his personal aptitude for progress.  It was this aptitude that prompted his ultimate success in all of the various enterprises which he undertook. Not a single defeat was ever to be experienced by him during his long span of life – nearly 95 years.

To know him was to love him.  He was revered by all, and the strange power he wielded over the community was almost hypnotic in scope.  During his almost fifty years of ministerial activity, there was not a single case of legal action – whether divorce, civil, or other controversial litigation ever brought to court, and the community jail was never used.  Throughout all of his sermons he emphasized the fact that morality was the first and most basic virtue of a Christian life.  Thus he had espoused the cause for morality as well as for Christianity.

This influence over people can be most authoritatively described by myself.  The techniques and procedures he used with me during the last three years of his life have already been described.  First there was the incident of becoming my pupil for the study of Latin in order to command my attention, and then his efforts in teaching me the finer points of agriculture through participation in the Boys and Girls Corn Growing Contest.

So great was his influence on me that at the time of his passing I had already resolved to follow in his footsteps.  Accordingly, in 1916 I enrolled as a freshman at Heidelberg College, (a denominational school of the Reformed Church), with the intention of entering the ministry.  However, during my sophomore year the exploratory efforts involved in my corn growing contest drew more and more interest for me to follow a life of research in the agricultural field.

Accordingly, in 1918 I transferred from Heidelberg College to the College of Agriculture at Purdue University, where I was to complete three semesters of work.  A serious accident had befallen my father, necessitating my presence on the farm for the spring work.  The following fall I transferred all of my credits from both schools to the College of Agriculture at Ohio State University, from which I graduated in 1922.

At the time of my graduation, our nation was involved in the first depression.  Opportunities for employment were at a minimum, so I accepted a job as a life insurance salesman and continued with this work for a dozen years.  During this time I had successfully elevated myself to a lucrative executive position that was highly desirable.  However, all during this tenure the urge to return to the farm grew stronger and stronger.

In 1933 I purchased Brookside Farms from my father and moved to the farm in 1935.  In 1937 I converted the smokehouse on the farm into a private laboratory for the intimate study concerning health failures in plants and animals.  This private research continued until the year 1952 when the enterprise was incorporated under the name and title of The Brookside Research Laboratories, Inc.

This new enterprise has experienced rapid growth and has expanded its facilities and services to include more than 30 chemists and technicians in the laboratory itself; more than 60 college trained agricultural consultants in the field, who are serving more than 1500 farm members, all at their individual farm levels.  This program of individualized service has found good farmer acceptance and from every conceivable angle may be considered as eminently successful.

Although I am personally credited with the founding and establishment of this enterprise, I must frankly admit that the full credit must belong to Mr. Kuck for his intensive efforts to interest me in matters of research during the last three years of his life.  It was his constant insistence on knowing the why this, why that – in fact always the why, why, why – that challenged my own curiosity ad interest  If it had not been for this inner compulsion, planted within me during these last three years of his life, I would never have resigned a lucrative position of absolute certainty for what seemed at the time a lesser and far more uncertain place in agriculture.

While Mr. Kuck did not live to see the development of this enterprise, he nevertheless planted the seed from which it sprung.  This was to be the highest accomplishment of his ministry concerning the soil.  It was his personal contention that man cannot live by bread alone, but without bread he cannot live at all.

He therefore served a dual ministry:

• the ministry for the soul of man
• the ministry of the soil to support man

Concerning his passing, I choose to quote the recording of this event as found in the records of the church which he founded and serviced during its first 50 years:

THE COURSE IS FINISHED

It was on March 29, 1915, after the noon-day meal, that he lay down to his final rest. His life among men had been lived.  Weary of body but ready and eager in spirit to be absent from the body and present with the Lord he peacefully “fell on sleep”.  He had gone to meet his God whom he served with childlike heart.  His sojourn on earth had spanned 93 years, 5 months, and 12 days.

On Good Friday, April 2, unforgettable memorial services were held.  The services were beautiful in their artlessness, just as the departed would have wished; and yet so moving!  In the words of Rev. Friedli, “Not the words that were spoken, not the hymns that were sung that made the profound impression.  It was the mourning congregation weeping at the bier of the spiritual father beloved that made the services so “impressive”.  The Rev. Mr. Freidli based his message on the words, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word:  for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation” (Luke 2: 29, 30).

Although the services of the sanctuary make extraordinary demands on a minister’s time and strength on Good Friday, nevertheless, several fellow-ministers had come to serve as pall-bearers and to assist in the services at the home and in the church.  Those present were the Rev. Wm. H. Lahr, of Bluffton; the Rev. T. W. Hoernemann, of Lima; the Rev. Frank H. Rupnow, of St. Marys; the Rev. F. Langhorst, of Kettlersville, and the Rev. J. Schaal, of New Knoxville.  Perhaps a thousand friends looked once more upon the stilled countenance and upon the lips eloquent in their silence.  How marvelously the Lord had wrought since the youth of nineteen had come from far away Ladbergen to the wilds of Ohio to let God use him as He would.

In the administration of his estate, the first order of business demanded an affidavit to be signed by my father as Executor of his Last Will and Testament.  This affidavit reads as follows:

The State of Ohio
Auglaize County, SS:
      Henry O. Kuck, being first duly sworn says that Henry Kuck, grantee in a patent deed dated Aug. 1, 1846, and filed for record with the Recorder of Auglaize County, Ohio on Oct. 6, 1919, was his grandfather; that F. H. W. Kuckherman, testator in a will dated April 1st, 1896, and admitted to Probate in the Probate Court of Auglaize County, Ohio on Junee 10, 1915, was his grandfather; that said Henry Kuck and said F. H. W. Kuckherman were one and the same person.

Henry O. Kuck
Sworn to before me and subscribed in my presence this 4th day of October A. D. 1919.
W. F. Copeland
Notary Public, Auglaize County, Ohio

NOTE:  It has been the popular belief in New Knoxville that James Slack, nephew of Rev. Kuckherman designed and built the three-wheeled horseless carriage and named it the Knox because of the name of the community.  Actually, Slack bought and assembled the vehicle, which was manufactured in Springfield, Massachusetts by a company founded by a Harry A. Knox.